


And All It Took Was a Kiss (Cam)

by EternalSushine



Category: Bridgerton (TV), Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Being 12 years late, Declarations Of Love, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, No Beta, We Die Like Men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29163804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalSushine/pseuds/EternalSushine
Summary: Penelope and Colin go to a baseball game and come to realise that what they have is not just friendship.
Relationships: Colin Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington
Comments: 10
Kudos: 167





	And All It Took Was a Kiss (Cam)

The Bridgertons love sports. Love with a capital L. They partake in all different types of sport, and they all have their favourites.

Anthony is partial to a good polo match or some soccer, while Benedict likes to spectate wrestling and take part in basketball. Colin has always thought that baseball is a noble sport and Eloise shares the sentiment while she never actually plays. She likes tennis, just like Daphne, though she’s the best in badminton when it comes to her family. Francesca does horseback riding, like most of the family, but she actually competes. Gregory does arching and fencing and the youngest Bridgerton Hyacinth swims.

All that to say that the family was always very busy with just their collective extra curriculars. And as the older kids moved on into professional lives the freer the social calendar became for the kids. 

Now Colin wasn’t a child. He was 24 years old and a charming young man. He just happened to still live with his mother while his older brothers and Daphne had already moved out with their partners. But since he lived with the kids, he had to drive the kids to their multiple different hobbies.

Eloise was of no help since she lived predominately at Penelope's dorms like a squatter. Those two were inseparable since they met in first grade. Colin remembers the first time his annoying kid sister brought her annoying best friend over. Or maybe annoying was the wrong word, Penelope was always sweet while Eloise was devil incarnate. 

After dropping off Hyacinth and Gregory at the after school center he had to make haste if he wanted to make it to the game he promised to meet El and Pen at. It was just a regular baseball game, nothing special. But he was excited since Penelope had finally agreed to join him and Eloise in the fun.

He parked his car, ran to the ticket stalls and looked around to see if he could find his sister and friend. Soon he saw a head of red hair in a sea of men. She seemed uncomfortable and that didn’t sit right with him. He walked over to her and put his arm around her.

“Where’s El?” He asked Penelope who jumped at his touch, but relaxed when she saw it was him.

“She can’t make it”, Penelope said and gave Colin a hot dog with all the goods.

Colin smiled as he took the hotdog. “Thanks. Did she say why? She’s the one who got the tickets”, he asked.

Penelope shrugged and settled into his side. Colin was used to being close with Penelope. For the last maybe 2 years the two had spent more time together, usually with Eloise or some random match up of his other siblings but sometimes just the two of them. They had seen Wicked on West End together, went to the zoo with Daphnes baby (even though there’s absolutely no chance the 6 month old could remember it) and they even went to a live recording of Graham Norton show. 

“She said that she wasn’t feeling well. I’m pretty sure she was just tired from talking with Philip all night long. Those two keep texting into the early hours”, Penelope said while eyeing the group of old men next to them who were dressed in the home team colours.

With his free hand Colin stuffed his face with the hot dog. “And she says they’re not dating”, he said with his mouth full.

Penelope laughed and nodded. “She will probably go to her grave with that. She really doesn’t think that spending that much time with a guy and talking about everything with him isn’t basically dating without the physical intimacy”.

Colin hummed and took his last bite of the hot dog, still feeling a little hungry. The irony of the situation was completely lost on the both of them. They too spent a lot of time together and had confided things they never had told to anyone else. Colin had told Penelope about his writing and Penelope had supported him and was now basically his editor.

The warm up was wrapping up and Colin stretched his arms, still leaving his arm around Penelope when he finished. She was nice and warm, soft also. “The game is about to start”, he said to her, leaning closer.

Penelope's cheeks seemed to get pink when he leaned over, but he just shrugged it off. It was kinda cute. “Which team are we cheering on?” She asked him.

Colin, in his element, explained the team members, their roles and why the home team was a favourite to win this game.

“Shouldn’t you cheer on the underdogs? They’re the ones who need it most”, Penelope reasoned.

Colin smiled at her warmly and hummed. “That is a nice way to think of it. Sports people just cheer for who they like best, even if they’re not the best. And around these people, it is better to keep cheering on the home team”, he said.

Penelope had noted the colours a lot of the people were wearing. Colin seemed to remember something and he shuffled through his bag. He then pulled out a scarf and wrapped it around his neck and put a hat on Penelope's head.

“Almost forgot these! It’s important to meld into the masses”, he said and winked at her, feeling giddy at seeing her blush.

The third batter was already up and the two focused on the game. It seemed to be quite tight, with some home runs but just as many outs. After about 40 minutes the situation had started to settle into a solid 27 - 32 and to Colins great pleasure Penelope seemed very interested in the sport. Maybe this could be a thing for them?

The big television screens lit up and a song started playing. The two looked up and saw that it was a kiss cam. Both of them blushed and kept their eyes off each other. Colin felt heat on his neck, he was flushed. The thought of kissing Penelope was somehow on his mind now. 

And he wasn’t going to lie to himself and say he didn’t find Penelope attractive or that he had never thought about kissing her before. But they were friends! Best friends even. And Penelope probably didn’t even like him like that.

Colin noticed that people around them were waving and he realised what was happening. The camera would soon head their way and these people were gesturing to the two of them. He swallowed and looked at Penelope who was looking down at her hands muttering something to herself.

And then it happened. The kiss cam landed on the two of them. Time froze for Colin and his gaze was like steel on Penelope. “We don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable”, he said softly, while the people around them chanted “KISS KISS KISS”.

Penelope looked straight into his eyes and his heart did a somersault. He couldn’t move, he was so nervous. Then he felt a soft tug on his scarf and his face was close to Penelopes. Her eyes were alight as she smiled softly. “Gotta give the people what they want”, she said and leaned closer to him, locking lips with the man.

It felt like electricity was buzzing around them, like fireworks were exploding everywhere. Colin knew the crowd was cheering and the camera had moved on, but he still found his mouth on Penelopes. His hand went to her cheek as he deepened the kiss, feeling a need in him come out. Their lips moved in tandem for a few seconds more before Penelope pulled back, opening her eyes to look into Colins.

Colin was out of breath, staring at the woman who had just kissed him like no woman ever before. Right now he could not care less about the game, all he wanted was to take Penelope to his car, drive somewhere, and make love to her. He wanted to kiss her, touch her, make her scream his name out loud. He wanted to memorize every inch of her soft skin and tell her how mesmerizing she was, how much he wanted her. How much he… Loved her? 

Penelope's cheeks flushed as they had yet to break eye contact and her lips were swollen from their kiss. She was the first to break the silence. “Colin… Are you okay?” She asked, her voice shaky.

Colin smiled softly and took her hand in his. “More than okay, Pen”, he said. His mind was working over time, trying to figure out what was going on. When had he started to feel like this around Penelope? When did she turn into something more? 

His mind immediately went to all those nights they spent on the phone talking, and how he looked forward to seeing her after his travels. Had his heart been disconnected from his brain all this time, because suddenly he couldn’t remember a time he didn’t feel like this around her.

“I just think my mind caught up to my heart”, he said, voice low and husky. He leaned closer to Penelope to whisper in her ear: “I don’t know when it happened, but I have fallen in love with you, Penelope Featherington”.

Penelope's face went bright red and she put a hand to her mouth. She looked at him, like she was trying to see if he was kidding. He wasn’t. He was being earnest, completely honest with her.

His hand which held one of hers pulled her up with him. “Come with me”, he said and led her out of the stands and to his car. He opened the door for her and then all but ran to his side of the car to get in.

When he got into the car it was like the floodgates opened. “Colin what do you mean you have fallen for me? Are you sure it isn’t just the heat of the moment, the kiss, the energy around us, the-”, Penelope rambled and Colin reached for her hand once again.

“Please, Penny. Calm down”, he said and smiled at her. “I’ll admit the kiss definitely was a catalyst here, but my feelings for you have been there this whole time”.

Penelope worried her lip and stared at him, expecting him to explain more.

“If someone had asked me if I loved you a few weeks ago, I would have said no”, he said honestly. “But today, when we kissed I felt like I never have before. Except that I have. When I’m around you, I feel like this. Like my heart is lighter and the air is filled with electricity. And having that all hit me so intensely was what made me realise it”, he continued.

He didn’t expect her to understand, it was all weird and the timing was suspect. He would understand if she just thought he was horny and acting on first instinct.

“Before we kissed…”, Penelope said softly, catching Colins full attention. “I told myself that if the camera fell on us I would seize the opportunity to kiss you”, she admitted.

Colins heartbeat was loud in his chest, his face turning into a huge grin. “Really? You wanted to kiss me?” He asked, happy like a little boy.

Penelope blushed and ducked her head. “Yes, okay! I’ve been in love with you for years”, she mumbled, but Colin heard every word.

“Years?” He asked, suddenly feeling like an idiot for not noticing. And like he had wasted time not knowing what his heart already knew. “Penelope, let me make this all up to you”, he declared.

“What?” Penelope looked surprised.

“You have waited around for me to come to my senses like the idiot that I am. I won’t rest until you’ve experienced the romance of ten whole years so that we can be caught up. So that I can make up for the time we lost, with me not realising that the love of my life was right here”, Colin said with his eyes shining.

Penelope laughed softly and squeezed his hand. “And how do you plan on doing that, Mr. Bridgerton?”

“You’ll find out”, Colin grinned and kissed her hand. “You’ll find out”.

A YEAR LATER

Colin had not joked about making up for all the time lost. He had spent the entire year taking Penelope to places, like Paris, Rome, Seoul, Iceland, South-Africa. He had started everyday by telling her how much he loved her. He had waited for her to be comfortable before they took their relationship to the next level, and by God was that level heavenly.

The Bridgertons had celebrated their coupling and once the two moved in together after six months of dating everyone was certain that they would never part.

Colin would give Penelope flowers, tell her how amazing she was, defend her when people put her down and most of all, he made her feel loved, cherished and wanted.

And now, on their first anniversary Colin was ready to pop the question to Penelope.

In front of the Stadium where they had shared their first kiss, Colin got down on one knee and held onto Penelopes hands.

“Penelope Featherington, will you make me the happiest man on planet earth and become my wife?” He asked, waiting for her response.

“Yes, Colin Bridgerton, I will”, she said, pulling him up to kiss him while wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Once again they were surrounded by a cheering crowd, and once again they did not notice.

The Bridgertons might love sports, but boy does Colin love Penelope more.

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you liked it. I found myself writing this while avoiding my actual work, so it might have suffered the consequences of stress migraines. I was inspired by a prompt I read on tumblr by the user @alengmae so I just went with it. I am a sucker for writing from Colins POV, I think him realising his feelings is just too satisfactory. If the ending seems a bit rushed it's because it kind of was, I had to rewrite the ending a few times and nothing seemed to quite fit. Regardless, I hope you found something in this fic that brought a smile to your face or maybe made you feel just a little better. These are trying times.
> 
> Love you all, I hope you stay safe and healthy!


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